Turku Arts Academy and Conservatory
Customer: Kuntien Eläkevakuutus (KEVA)
Location: Linnankatu 54–60, Turku, Finland
Completed: 1994 Conservatory, 1997 Arts Academy, Art Campus phase I: 2021, phase II: 2022 Sigyn Hall modifications
Area: 16,000 m2
In converting the Aura River shipyard area shipbuilding halls and rope factory into an arts academy and conservatory, new and old engage in an interesting dialogue with each other and their environment. Our own time contributes its own verse as part of a vibrant, rich and exciting whole. The Turku Arts Academy and Conservatory has also been internationally recognised as an example of a successful process, in which industrial areas on the outskirts of city centres, so-called brownfield areas, are transformed into environments for living and creative work.
Completed in 1994 and 1997, respectively, the Turku Arts Academy and Conservatory are located on Linnankatu in the old Aura River shipyard area. The Conservatory is located in a former shipbuilding hall (1928) and rope factory (1934, Gunnar Wahlroos), and the Arts Academy is housed in another hall (1928), social building (1970s) and a newly built section. The buildings are connected by a 270-metre ropeway corridor (1934). In connection with the renovations, an outdoor plaza, Varvintori, was made between the shipbuilding halls. The plaza opens out to the Aura River and the tall ship Sigyn moored there.
The Conservatory’s public areas, Sigyn Chamber Music Hall (400 seats) and its lobby, the Crichton Hall (200 seats), Vulcan Hall (120 seats), restaurant and café, music library and study rooms were built on the ‘building within a building’ principle inside the shipbuilding halls. Teaching and administrative areas are found on the second floor of the rope factory and in part of the ropeway corridor.
One of the former shipbuilding halls houses the Arts Academy theatre, dance and video instruction areas as well as painting, drawing and graphics instruction facilities. The rope factory ropeway corridor houses an exhibition space, small workshop and student union area and sculpture, workshop and office facilities are found in the new section. The social building houses the arts and communication department administration and teacher areas, classrooms, editing and animation facilities, a sound studio with a control room, a cinema, puppet theatre, costume studio, and a photography studio and its laboratory.
In planning protected buildings, the special features of the old architecture must be taken into account. In addition, the basis for the design of the Conservatory was the requirement for good acoustics. Measures were taken to ensure acoustical insulation in both structures and ventilation systems. The former shipbuilding halls, with their wide-open, high-ceilinged interiors, offered an excellent foundation for music instruction spaces and concert halls. They were divided into smaller sections while preserving the dominant position of the original spatial forms.
In designing the concert hall, thought was given to how the atmosphere of the old shipbuilding hall could be integrated into the concert space. A decision was made to build the hall with glass walls. The wall architecture is formed by a fusion of acoustics and glass structure. Old, patinated, riveted steel structures were left exposed. Gantry cranes were left as an element of the lobby interior to support the lobby platform and roof structures at the entrances.
The façades of the rope factory and shipbuilding halls were preserved, nearly retaining their original appearance: bowed façade structures were not straightened, the patina of steel structures was not removed and new glazing was lightly sandblasted. Conversely, in the glass wall of the lobby a point-fixed glass structure was used for the first time in Finland.
Computer software was used for the first time in Finland in designing the acoustics.
In 1995, the Turku Conservatory won the ECCS European Steel Design Award and in 1996 the EU Europa Nostra Award. In 1999 it was nominated for the EU 6th Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture.
In the alteration and renovation project ‘Linnankatu Arts Academy 1’ (completed in 2020), some of the facilities were modified for use by the Turku University of Applied Sciences degree programme in Performing Arts (Circus). Other parts of the building remained rooms for music instruction and practice. The dance instruction room was converted into an instructional space for circus arts, but in a way that the space could also be used as a venue for public events. The requirements of different uses and user groups for the space had to be considered in its design. A challenging aspect of the alteration work was ensuring adequate acoustical insulation between the new circus arts instruction areas and musical instruction rooms behind them, as taking acoustics and sound conditions is crucial in the conservatory spaces.
Changing the intended use of the spaces required the installation of new emergency exit stairs on a protected façade. A new freight and passenger lift, stair lift and accessible toilet were also added to the building. These alterations were planned together with the client and users. In doing so, several different solution alternatives were explored.
The alterations were made with the same design principles as used in the original 1990s project: preserving the original architecture and shipbuilding hall atmosphere of protected factory buildings in cooperation with museum authorities.
With regard to building utilities, the ventilation machines and terminals were updated (ductwork was retained), air conditioning was added, and the building lighting, emergency lighting and lighted signage were updated. In addition to these, the joints between the building subfloor and exterior wall were sealed to correct the settling of the subfloor.
In the alteration and renovation project ‘Linnankatu Arts Academy 2’ (completed in 2021), major renovations were done in Sigyn Hall. Data models were used in the alteration work and the design of the upper structures of the new stage. The hall was originally designed for acoustic music performances and instruction, but the accessibility and multipurpose capacity of the space were emphasised. Now, the hall has been designed to handle, among others, adaptive acoustics, so that it can also be used for the performance and instruction of electrically-amplified music. The stage technologies (lighting and audio systems) used were also improved so that the hall could also be used for lectures and conferences.
In connection with the alteration project, the buildings were also connected to the district heating grid, ventilation machines were updated and ventilation plant rooms were expanded. In some parts of the buildings, repairs were also made to interior surfaces and restaurant maintenance facilities were added to the basement level.